


earnest

by suheafoams



Category: ONEUS (Band), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, juyeon asks seoho out basically, loose references to rtk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28039122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suheafoams/pseuds/suheafoams
Summary: seoho's been on juyeon's mind for a couple of months, at this point.
Relationships: Lee Seoho/Lee Juyeon
Comments: 16
Kudos: 91





	earnest

**Author's Note:**

> (taps mic timidly) i think everyone should be seoho's boyfriend 
> 
> been thinking about seoho/geonhak/juyeon for a while and this is just one out of the several "universes" i picture for them. written in good fun for the crossover enthusiasts (and of course me, as my ao3 descends into self indulgent madness)

Juyeon doesn’t really have a plan going into it. 

“Ah, hello,” Seoho says, standing up immediately when Juyeon enters the dressing room. He still has his makeup on, but he’s dressed more comfortably than Juyeon is, sporting a sky blue hoodie with sleeves that hide his fingers even as they’re clutching at his phone. His pants are a loose fit, made of a soft, black fabric with a tailored line that makes his legs look...pretty. 

Seoho’s hair is pastel orange, hints of his darker roots growing. The last time Juyeon had seen him in person, it’d been a dark red. 

Juyeon dips his head in a polite greeting, offering a small smile, but he’s already noticed the way Seoho’s shoulders tense up ever so slightly just at his presence. Not hostile, though definitely guarded. Nervous. 

He’d noticed it a few months back, how Seoho and the rest of his group members were playful, pushy, gently vicious with each other but diffused into murmurs of thinly veiled panic and rapid nodding in front of unfamiliar faces. That was normal, but the contrast in demeanor remained a stark one considering their line of work. They brought forth a distinct, unreplicable style and unique charisma on every stage they prepared but lost that fierce drive when it came to breaking the ice, approaching strangers, steering conversations. 

Youngjo was the most sociable of them, and yet he seemed content to fade into the background, didn’t fill the forefront of everyone’s focus the way Keonhee and Hwanwoong had a natural tendency to do even if they didn’t want it. Dongju was soft spoken, defaulted to communicating with fluttery long eyelashes and shy but attentive eyes. Geonhak...Juyeon knows him from way back, and Geonhak had never been the best at opening up, though he was glad to see that Geonhak seemed to have finally grown comfortable in his own skin, surrounded by the tightknit affection of his five current members. 

Seoho was...well, a lot of things. He didn’t seem to like making eye contact until it was time for _goodbyes_ and _see you later’s_ , but he smiled and giggled at practically everything. It probably wasn’t that he found everyone in the room _that_ funny, but a reflex. 

Fixating for too long on the crescents of Seoho’s eyes and the sweet dulcet of his laugh felt a little like stolen pleasure, a guilty indulgence. Seoho was skittish and they were practically strangers, and so Juyeon tucked budding feelings, thoughts, wants away behind a door in the back of his mind he wouldn’t open until later. 

Juyeon just observed quietly, the way Seoho held nonverbal conversations with his members using the slightest movements: a tilt of the head here, a raised eyebrow of amusement there. Geonhak often grabbed Seoho close for warmth under the pretense of fighting, when he just wanted their hands to be touching, and Hwanwoong clung to Seoho like a sloth who’d found his favorite tree branch to dangle from. 

The attachment and fondness between them, all six members, obviously ran deep. Loud in nature, despite how quiet they were with expressing it. 

Juyeon’s group members aren’t like that. There are more of them, sure, nearly double of ONEUS in number but even if they were halved they’d still be _loud_ in every sense of the word _._ Bright, noisy, energy bouncing off of each other and creating even more chaos than what they’d started off with, no matter the time of day. 

Juyeon is sure that it’s a lot to handle. With just one Juyeon, though, quiet and careful whenever operating alone, maybe Seoho won’t find it to be too much. 

“Were you looking for Geonhakkie?” Seoho asks. He looks relieved, to have pinpointed a potential reason for Juyeon visiting as well as something to deflect the attention from himself. 

“Not Geonhak, no,” Juyeon replies, slowly. 

The look Seoho gives him can really only be described as _bewildered_ because Juyeon has just effectively cut off his only means of escape, and Juyeon can’t help but laugh. None of the other ONEUS members are here either, so Seoho’s left without a buffer between him and whoever finds him compelling enough to risk the climb over his carefully constructed castle walls. 

“Then…?”

(“ _You should just go and ask for his number, instead of pining from afar like a puppy,_ ” Chanhee had said earlier, nudging Juyeon in the shoulder before realizing Juyeon was sweaty and disdainfully wiping his hand on Juyeon’s bicep to give the sweat back. “ _He’s really nice from what I remember. And easily cornered, probably._ ” 

“ _I don’t want to corner him,_ ” Juyeon had replied with a frown, but Chanhee had only made a face at him that said something along the lines of _suit yourself!_ ) 

“Nice” is merely one of many words Juyeon has heard used to describe Lee Seoho. He knows it’s only the tip of the iceberg, one trait floating in a lake of so many other fascinating ones Juyeon has noted in rare moments of free time where their schedules overlap or their paths cross even momentarily. 

Seoho getting his makeup done and asking the makeup artist if she was cold, if she wanted to go put a jacket on first before finishing up his eyeshadow. 

Seoho looking like a kitten who wanted to press himself as far back as possible into the corners of the room when Sangyeon had complimented his singing, mentioned that the honey-like undertone of Seoho’s speaking voice became amplified when carried through a melody. 

Seoho flushing rosy pink when his knuckles had accidentally brushed against Juyeon’s hand after Juyeon gave him a water bottle during early morning practice, and Geonhak laughing muffled and amused into Seoho’s shoulder when Seoho could only squeak out a _thank you_ with a voice crack that Juyeon honestly found endearing more than anything else. 

The thing is, Juyeon doesn’t want so much to _hear_ things about Seoho as he wants to experience them for himself, but initiating friendships (and more) is hard when he is the way that he is. Overly eager, a bit slow to react, with a sense of humor that’s considered flat at best and not outright bad only because he has the enthusiasm to make up for it. 

If nothing else though, Juyeon is _earnest_ , and he thinks that’s worth something. 

“I’m here for you, actually,” Juyeon says before Seoho can make any other assumptions, or consider pointing Juyeon in the direction of any other ONEUS members. Seoho’s eyes grow wide, and Juyeon keeps thinking back to that scared hamster meme that Jacob has been using in their group chat. He has to hold back a laugh, again. “Sorry, is that too forward of me?” 

“Ah, no, I...” Seoho says, trailing off. He laughs as well, the sound of it airy and kind despite the confusion clearly laced throughout his body language. Still holding onto his phone with one heavily sleeved hand, he uses the other one to mess with his hair. “What did you…?” 

Juyeon knows what that means, too. Something seems to coincidentally get into Seoho’s eye every time he’s embarrassed, especially if he’s on the receiving end of genuine admiration, and Juyeon hopes he’s reading this right as he steps closer to Seoho. 

“Would you be willing to give me your number?” Juyeon asks. “If you’re comfortable with it.” There’s a short stretch of silence, and then he wonders if he should give further explanation. Maybe Seoho doesn’t like the ambiguity of new people approaching him, needs clarity— “Because I think you’re very handsome, and kind, and talented, and I’d like to get to know you...” 

Even in the middle of saying it, he’s wondering if he should have switched the order of the words, because he thinks Seoho’s best trait is his kindness, and that’s really what’s pushed Juyeon to step out of his comfort zone like this— 

Seoho interrupts him with a hand to Juyeon’s forearm, sort of grazing skin but not much else. It’s enough to get Juyeon’s full attention and make him stop talking out of sheer surprise, which he figures is what Seoho intended to do. 

“You don’t have to...are you always this intense with people you’re trying to get close to?” Seoho asks. The tips of his ears are red, and he smiles directly at Juyeon for a moment before his eyes flicker elsewhere and they’re no longer making eye contact. “Hearing that from you is…” he’s still _smiling_ , the wide, sincere one, and Juyeon is the cause of it this time around— “I’m flattered, thank you.” 

Juyeon blinks at him, positively enamored. “I already tried to be less intense,” he says, softening his voice further. 

“Did you?” Seoho tilts his head. “I have to build up my resistance then.” 

The words don’t sink in right away because they’re not all that direct. Then Juyeon thinks more about it, why and how Lee Seoho would build up resistance to him, then the _significance_ of building resistance— 

Is Seoho flirting back? 

“Oh,” Juyeon says, and he can tell Seoho is holding back a laugh. “Does that mean…?” 

“Give me your phone,” Seoho says, extending his hand. He sounds a lot more relaxed now, and Juyeon strangely feels like he’s passed an invisible test. “You wanted my number, right?” 

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked reading please consider leaving a comment! i'd appreciate it v much ^^


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